Certainty of Apprehension vs Punishment

This week in one of our teacher’s meetings, one of the Admins said something to the effect of “It’s not the severity of the punishment but the certainty of punishment that is the deterrent.” Having somehow no memory of ever hearing this quote, I was put into mental processing mode. (This is where the musing comes in.) Being in education, I hear many things - some amazingly insightful, others amazingly stupid. Some seem odd on the surface and then, with a little thought, make total sense. Others sound really astute, but upon inspection fall all apart. Then there are those statements that are simply the idle sputterings of raving lunatics. This one fell into the first category. As he explained, my mind began to comprehend what he was saying. A search for the source of this quote led me to, of all places the National Institute of Justice, part of the DOJ. This is statement #1 from their web page “Five things About Deterrence”.

“The certainty of being caught is a vastly more powerful deterrent than the punishment.” https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/five-things-about-deterrence

Knowing that not everything the government says is aligned with Christian values (I’m sure that’s a shocker for you) I decided to compare it to scripture. A verse memorized in one of my college secondary education classes instantly popped into my head. ( Thank you Mr. Holland!) Ecclesiastes 8:11 reads, When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. Not exactly the same since getting caught and sentencing are two separate things, but the results are basically the same. If you are certain to get caught and sentencing is swift, it surely gives one reason to pause. Hey, even Google AI got it right this time.

Passages like Galatians 6:7 ("Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap") and Proverbs 11:21 ("Be sure of this, that the wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will escape") clearly state the idea that punishment is certain for wrong actions.

Well who’d have thought…

For the Christian it makes total sense. If we know that there is a “payday someday” then it should change the way we do things. I think this is one of the reasons so many people are against all the cameras and face recognition. They still want the possibility of not getting caught. (people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. John 3:19) Privacy is nice, and I still don’t want to end up on the evening news (unless I win an award or something) but cameras are not a big deal to me. If you live your life knowing God is watching you really do not have anything to worry about.

having your way of life honest among the Gentiles, that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:12